The arrival of a fifteen metre long, three ton whale on Playa San Pedro in Marbella caused quite a stir testerday afternoon, thousands of people turning up to take a look.
The huge Fin Whale, suffering from numerous cuts and other injuries, arrived at the beach at around 15:00. The fact that the whale had beached itself was a sign of the seriousness of its state of health. For several hours, both professionals and volunteers battled to save the life of this unusual visitor, people working in shifts to keep it hydrated.
At around 20:00, taking advantage of the tide to try and avoid further tissue damage, an attempt was made to tow the whale offshore. Unfortunately, the boat had neither enough power nor time to carry out the operation and the whale succumbed to its injuries.
A biologist at the scene said that the seriousness of the injuries suffered by the whale made saving it a very difficult task although every effort was made to do so.